Supporting Tucson Through Photography
Twenty years of volunteer work with animal rescue organizations and healthcare facilities—experience that shapes every portrait session.
Photography creates connection. It tells stories that matter. It helps animals find homes and brings comfort to healing spaces.
Since 2006, I've donated my photography skills to causes that align with my values—animal welfare, community health, and the belief that everyone deserves to be seen with dignity and care. This work isn't separate from my commercial photography business. It's the foundation of how I approach every client, every session, every portrait.
Whether I'm photographing an anxious rescue dog at Pima Animal Care Center or a nervous executive preparing for a career transition, the same skills apply: patience, empathy, and the ability to help someone feel comfortable in front of the camera.
Animal Welfare & Rescue Photography
Supporting Tucson's Animal Rescue Community
Current Partnerships:
Friends of Pima Animal Care Center
I've served as a primary visual storytelling partner for Friends of PACC since the organization's founding in 2016, documenting their work supporting animal welfare throughout Pima County. I provide event photography (including the annual Pets of Pima Parade), fundraising content creation, and professional portrait services for staff and board members.
In 2020, I received the Community Service Recognition Award at the Southern Arizona Volunteer Management Association (SAVMA) Awards banquet, acknowledging the impact of volunteer photography services on animal welfare advocacy with Pima Animal Care Center and Friends of PACC.
Pima Animal Care Center (PACC)
I volunteer at PACC, photographing adoptable animals for their online profiles and fundraising campaigns. Better photography means faster adoptions—and for shelter animals, time matters.
This isn't glamour photography. It's patient, behavior-focused work with animals who may be scared, shut down, or overstimulated. It requires reading body language, moving slowly, and creating moments of calm in a chaotic environment. These are the same skills I bring to pet photography sessions with clients—and to headshot sessions with professionals who aren't comfortable being photographed.
Humane Society of Southern Arizona (HSSA)
Since March 2025, I've created video content and photography for HSSA in partnership with Dr. Karyn Carlson and their team. I've photographed more than 50 animals for fundraising campaigns and adoption promotions. Recent projects include documenting Navajo Nation puppy rescues—stories of animals transported hundreds of miles to safety and second chances in Tucson.
These collaborations combine storytelling, documentary photography, and genuine respect for the work rescue organizations do every day. I'm honored to support their mission through imagery that moves people to action.
Tucson Police Department K-9 Unit
In 2019, I partnered with the Tucson Police Department's K-9 Unit for a fundraising photography project to purchase life-saving protective equipment for police dogs. I photographed TPD officers alongside their K-9 partners, capturing both the professional working relationship and the individual personalities of these highly trained dogs.
The project produced a fundraising calendar (July 2019-December 2020), with proceeds directed toward purchasing bullet and stab-resistant vests and protective gear for these four-legged officers who serve our community.
Beyond Regular Volunteer Work
Over the years, my involvement has extended beyond showing up with a camera.
After Shelter Cats was published in 2010, the founder of what would become HeARTs Speak reached out. I became a founding member, helping build a network that connected photographers with shelters across the country—and eventually internationally. For six years, I helped other photographers improve their shelter photography skills, which felt like a way to multiply the impact. That work reinforced what I'd learned locally: better photos mean faster adoptions.
Closer to home, I was invited to help select the artist for "Wild at Heart," the permanent sculpture at PACC's Silverbell location. Being part of that process—and contributing my own dog and cat photography to Roger Stoller's stainless steel design—felt like a full-circle moment. The sculpture is still there today, part of PACC's transformation from traditional shelter to the community resource it is now.
These experiences shaped my understanding that photography can serve communities in ways that extend beyond individual sessions. The patience I've developed through this work—whether with a shut-down shelter dog or a nervous executive who hasn't updated their headshot in years—comes from thousands of hours in environments where creating calm matters as much as technical skill.
Historical Timeline
The Long View: 20 Years of Volunteer Photography
My commitment to animal welfare photography didn't start in Tucson. It started in 2006 when I established my business.
Lexington, Kentucky (2006-2008):
Woodford Humane Society—I photographed more than 1,000 adoptable animals and documented fundraising events in the Bluegrass region.
Richland, Washington (2008-2011):
Benton-Franklin Humane Society, Tri-Cities Animal Shelter, and pet therapy programs at Kadlec and Lourdes hospitals. I photographed therapy dogs and their handlers for display at a local veterinary clinic that sponsored their work—an early intersection of my interests in animal photography and healthcare environments.
Tucson, Arizona (2011-Present):
Friends of PACC (founding partner since 2016), Pima Animal Care Center, Humane Society of Southern Arizona (since March 2025), Tucson Police K-9 Unit (2019 project), and various small rescue organizations throughout Southern Arizona.
This isn't a marketing initiative. It's who I've been for nearly two decades across three states. I've photographed thousands of shelter animals over 20 years—more than 1,000 before I ever moved to Tucson. Long before "brand authenticity" became a buzzword, I was showing up weekly to photograph animals nobody else wanted to photograph—because it mattered.
That experience is irreplaceable. And it informs every commercial session I photograph today.
Healthcare & Healing Arts
Tucson Medical Center Foundation Permanent Collection
In 2019, I was honored to have my fine art photography selected for the TMC Foundation's permanent Healing Art collection. This program places artwork throughout TMC Healthcare facilities to create calming, uplifting environments for patients, families, and medical staff.
My interest in photography for healing environments began years earlier in Washington state, where I documented pet therapy teams working at Kadlec and Lourdes hospitals. That early work—photographing the dogs and handlers who brought comfort to patients—planted seeds that would grow into partnerships like the TMC Foundation's Healing Arts collection.
My landscape and nature photography now hangs in patient rooms and public spaces where people face difficult diagnosis, receive treatment, and begin recovery. The goal is simple: create moments of beauty and calm in spaces often defined by stress and uncertainty.
This recognition reinforced my belief that photography serves purposes beyond commerce. Images can comfort. They can inspire. They can remind people of the world waiting for them outside hospital walls.
I remain open to future partnerships with healthcare facilities, veterinary hospitals, and other organizations interested in using fine art photography to enhance healing environments.
Why This Work Matters (To You)
What Community Work Teaches a Professional Photographer
The skills required to photograph a shut-down shelter dog translate directly to photographing a nervous professional who hasn't updated their headshot in a decade:
Reading body language and adjusting my approach in real time
Creating calm in stressful environments
Working patiently with subjects who aren't naturally comfortable being photographed
Finding authentic moments instead of forcing artificial poses
Respecting dignity regardless of circumstances
When you hire me for pet photography, you're not just getting technical skill—you're getting nearly 20 years of animal behavior expertise developed in high-pressure shelter environments.
When you hire me for headshots, you're not just getting a photographer—you're getting someone who understands anxiety, reads emotional cues, and knows how to make people feel safe enough to be themselves on camera.
This experience can't be purchased, taught in a workshop, or replicated by commodity photographers. It's earned through thousands of hours working with animals and people who needed patience, empathy, and genuine care.
That's what you get in every session.
Supporting These Organizations
If my volunteer work resonates with you, consider supporting these organizations directly:
Friends of Pima Animal Care Center
Support programs: https://www.friendsofpacc.org/donatetoday-1
Event information: https://www.friendsofpacc.org/news-events-1
Pima Animal Care Center
Volunteer opportunities: https://www.pima.gov/2795/Volunteer-with-PACC
Donation information: https://www.pima.gov/2286/Donate
Humane Society of Southern Arizona
Volunteer opportunities: https://hssaz.org/help/volunteer/
Donation information: https://hssaz.org/help/donate/
Current adoptable animals: All pets
Tucson Medical Center Foundation
Healing Art Program: https://tmcfoundation.com/en/healing-art-program
Call to Action
Experience This Approach in Your Portrait Session
Whether you're looking for fine art pet photography or professional headshots, the patience and empathy I've developed through community work shapes every session. Contact me to day to talk about how I can help.